#1 #green 2010 Shorty Award winner @elephantjournal can come from (way) behind—if you help.
We only have 10 days to garner 500 votes.
Last year, the award saved our business. This year, #green is an official category—which, if we won, would put us on a national stage—from which it’d be easier to fulfill our mission to share the good news beyond our choir. ~ Waylon Lewis, ed.
It’s a lot of work, so I’ve held off—and now we’re 350 votes behind. But we have 1,000s of readers—and two weeks to make up the distance from the frontrunner, who will likely have approx 500 votes by the end of voting, which is the end of January.
All you have to do, if so inspired, is have a twitter account and vote by copying and pasting, adding a reason, then tweeting:
I nominate @elephantjournal for a Shorty Award in #green bc … [then say something]
Rules below. (Note: RTs don’t count. Campaigning to win is not only okay but encouraged—the community decides. Have fun with your reason—be sweet, serious, silly, irreverent, personal…).
We can do it, if you decide to help.
How the Shorty Awards Work
The Shorty Awards are a worldwide effort to engage hundreds of thousands of Twitter users to identify the best people and organizations on Twitter.
Voting
- To vote, send a tweet like this: I nominate @TwitterUser for a Shorty Award in #category because… (add reason here)
- You can also tweet shorter votes like this: #shortyawards @username #category (add quick reason here). This shorter format is helpful if you want to vote from a party, on the road, in a meeting, or on a boat
- Be as creative as you want with the reason
- A tweet that does not give a reason for the nomination will not be counted
- The nomination must be relevant to the category
- Vote for as many different people as you want, in as many categories as you want, as often as you want
- Only one person and one category per tweet
- Voting for the same person in the same category more than once just replaces the text of your original vote; it does not count as an additional vote
- You can vote in any of the Official Categories or make up a category of your own. If a new category becomes popular, it might be turned into an Official Category with an award presented at the ceremony in March
Twitterers are welcome to campaign and encourage their friends to vote for them
L:ast year, @elephantjournal won Shorty Awards’ #1 in green in the US. Here was our interview:
with Waylon Lewis
What’s your best tweet?
Hard 2 say, I send 40 a day. The best ones pass along useful info—or provide spark of levity or wisdom in our ADHD workaday lives.
What are six things you could never do without?
Water? Food? Bicycle? Laptop? Cafes? Mom? Love.
How do you use Twitter in your professional life?
It doesn’t help my site get much traffic-wise, not like FB. It’s gr8 hwvr 4 connections, community, networking, communication—huge 4 us.
What’s your favorite Twitter app?
I use Tweetdeck. I lurv it, for most part, though I could make a few suggestions as a relatively longtime, active user.
Twitter or Facebook?
Beatles or Elvis? Both. 4 v. diff reasons. Twit = scrappier, grassroots, instant, still evolvg. FB is here 2 stay, + gr8 4 my social life.
What was the funniest trend you’ve seen?
A pal, @Micah, started #ff / #followfriday. Wasn’t funny, but = useful 4 long time. Also turning profile pics green 4 Iran=cool.
What feature should Twitter add?
Sounds strange, but > ads. As a media player myself, I’d like 2C Twitter + other social + new media sites begin 2 break even, turn profit.
Who do you wish had a Twitter feed but doesn’t?
C’mon. President Obama. Would love to follow his daily actions, thoughts, meetings, frustrations, hopes, communications.
What are some words or phrases you refuse to shorten for brevity?
cnt thnk ofany.
Is there someone you want to follow you who doesn’t already? If so, who?
Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia. But that would mean he’d have to get a cell phone +/or a laptop.
Have you ever unfollowed someone? Who and why?
I’ve unfollowd a few friends who were a little self-involvd: just tweetg re where they were, where they were, what movie they were seeing…
Why should we vote for you?
Bc we’re all about social media. Learng as we go. We depend on it. Luv it. It’s personal 2 us. It’s vital 2 us. We’re ambassadors 4 Twit luv.
Terms you wish would start trending on Twitter right now?
climatechange, bicycle, organic, fairlabor, madeinusa, bipartisan, fairtrade, green, ecoresponsible, elephantjournaldotcomismyhomepage
What’s the most interesting connection you’ve made through Twitter?
Deepak Chopra? Nah…Comcast. Havg trouble w/bill situation, I complaind, askd follwrs 2 RT, made so much noise they clued in, helped out.
Hashtag you created that you wish everyone used?
If it were short, relevant, fun, my virtual community wld likely adopt it. Was thinking #mindful, but it’s not fun enuf.
How do you make your tweets unique?
I write em myself. Don’t pass em off 2 interns or writers. I keep em real. Have 2 pass smell test, be int’g 2 me + relevant 2 others.
What inspires you to tweet?
Good news. Bad news. My community of virtual compatriots. My business’ many blog posts e/day. Funny videos. Interesting ideas. Brkg news.
Ever get called out for tweeting too much?
Frequently, in the past, by folks who don’t use tweetdeck, seismic, or some dashboard interface. Never by those who do.
140 characters of advice for a new user?
Tweet daily. Use tweetdeck or other interface, not twitter.com. RT. Tweet links 2 articles, vids u find intg/funny. Follow intg peeps.
How long can you go without a tweet?
Hypothetically, forever. No problem. I don’t need to be connected personally. Professionally, however, it’s essential. Maybe 3 hours, max!
What question are we not asking here that we should?
Why haven’t we made “green” an official category? Isn’t “green” the controversial, vital issue of our generation?
Who do you admire most for his or her use of Twitter?
In the green sphere, @Treehugger and @Twilight Earth rock it.
Why’d you start tweeting?
I signed up approx 1 yr ago. Aft 1st 2 mos, my 20yrold web intern said, “Get on this. U’ll luv it. Will b huge 4 ele.” He got me on Twtdeck.
Has Twitter changed your life? If yes, how?
It’s saved my business. Literally. A yr ago, we were a print publication, a nat’ly dist’d magazine. Going online, it put us on the map.
What do you wish people would do more of on Twitter?
I luv Twit’s cooperative spirit. Tho we get lotsa RTs (MNN, big green site, named us #2 nat’l green media 4 active followrs), > RTs=merrier.
How will the world change in 2010?
It will contnu2get faster, smaller, > connectd, polluted, warm, conservative—all of which will galvanize, facilitate, reenergze grassroots.
What are some big Twitter faux pas?
Cheesy marketing bullshiite. ONLY tweetg re ur business + partners. Autoreplies that read like autoreplies. Not usg it consistently. Nvr RTg.
What will the world be like 10 years from now?
> wonderful, dangerous, smaller, speedy, + far > trashed than 2day. Environmentally-speaking, things r going2get worse b4 they get btr.
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